Young: Why does it look like Lou Gehrig is batting right-handed in this Yankee Stadium photo?
From Dennis Young at the New York Daily News on August 5, 2019, with mention of SABR member Jacob Pomrenke:
On a wall outside Yankee Stadium, on River Avenue across the street from the bar Dugout and right next to Gate 8, there is a photo that appears to show Lou Gehrig, one of the greatest left-handed batters in the history of the sport, batting right-handed. It’s probably Alex Rodriguez’s fault.
The photo has been there since at least November 2016, when the Yankees renovated the Stadium in the 2016-17 offseason, touting “social” spaces, a kids’ play area, and new food and beers. As part of those renovations, they replaced photos of then-current Yankees on the River Avenue walls with Yankee legends.
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Jacob Pomrenke, the director of editorial content at the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), helped me get to the bottom of this dumb mystery. He agreed that “His arms appear as if they’re beginning a right-handed swing, when they’re actually finishing a normal left-hander’s swing,” and shared several factors that would explain that.
Read the full article here: https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-lou-gehrig-yankee-stadium-photo-20190805-q2bfsazljjabpgbjz3fcxtfoka-story.html
Originally published: August 5, 2019. Last Updated: August 5, 2019.